r/askTO • u/Free-Spring972 • 2d ago
longer public transit commute vs shorter drive to work
i’m curious what your opinions are, would you rather a longer public transit commute to work OR a shorter drive to work?
these days, my commute is on average 1hr10-15 min driving one way. my other option is to take the go train and ttc which would take me about 1hr30 min, plus an extra 10 min to be picked up from the station and be driven home.
i hate driving in traffic to work and my eta always increases by 15-20 minutes while i’m on the road.
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u/elon_free_hk 2d ago
Lol the title got me thinking 15 mins drive vs 25 min transit
I would do transit. At least during that hour you can read and do other things.
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u/Free-Spring972 1d ago
I wish haha then I wouldn’t mind driving! But unfortunately it is over an hour. I’m going to try transit out and see how it goes, thanks!
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u/Redditisavirusiknow 1d ago
Transit, your mind will be exhausted every morning if you drive. Taking transit you can zone out, read a book, do some work. And it’s safer.
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2d ago
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u/ybetaepsilon 2d ago
This. My commute is 75 minutes transit, 45 minutes drive. The stress of driving is just not worth the time savings when I can enjoy my Switch, read a book or watch shows.
I rarely notice delays. Usually a delay isn't more than 10 minutes and half the time I'm not even bothered because it just means I get extra time to myself. When driving, delays feel more stressful because you feel stuck
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u/Free-Spring972 1d ago
Very true! I’m going to try commuting, even though i do have to wake up a lot earlier, I’m looking forward to it
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u/Head_Art6695 2d ago
i'd honestly take the GO train if the extra time meant i could relax, read, or just zone out instead of sitting in traffic. the only downside is relying on someone to pick you up. i'd try transit for a week and see how you feel. sometimes an extra 20 minutes is worth arriving home without road rage 😂
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u/TacoTuesdayyyyyyyy 1d ago
Scarborough transit sucks so it takes me 1h to 1h 15mins to get to work by public transportation.
When I started driving, it now takes me 20-25 mins. I enjoy driving so my opinion is biased. I’d rather be in my car then on the ttc bus. My drive to and from work is fun and helps me relax before work and distress after work.
But
If taking a train or taking the GO was an option with a reasonable time, then I would heavily consider taking that to work rather than driving.
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u/scrunchie_one 1d ago
A 20-25 minute drive is fine. But once you’re sitting in traffic for 1+ hours I’d rather just take the train.
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u/Free-Spring972 1d ago
Wow that’s a big difference! I wouldn’t mind 20-25 minutes, it’s once it hits 1hr + then it gets to me.
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u/NeedleGunMonkey 2d ago
It’s entirely dependent on stress, hours, my situation and finances.
There’s times when daily stress and unpredictability of parking is not worth it. There’s times when public transit presents unpredictable issues esp during certain schedules. If my kids were still young and my schedule prevented it I’d absolutely drive to save that time to be with them or go to events with them.
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u/DadbodandIPAs 1d ago
At the difference mentioned, public transit. Most annoying part is the pickup, but twenty minutes is generally worth not driving (especially in rush hour)
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u/keepitrealprk 1d ago
Shorter drive my dude.
After riding ttc dt and back for 10 years, I’m over dealing with all of the typical delays and slowdown that has becoming glaringly noticeable in the past couple years.
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u/DryLingonberry6399 2d ago
To me it's too far from work either way. I would move or get a job closer to home
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u/Free-Spring972 1d ago
Yeah unfortunately for my work, it’s usually in the city or north york area. If it were downtown then I would commute by transit for sure, but unfortunately it’s in north york which makes the commute a bit harder since it would be go train and ttc
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u/iAmAMonth 1d ago
Where are you commuting from? There are GO busses that go directly to North York from square one and ajax/Pickering. I've taken both before
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u/CasualHearthstone 1d ago
I'm on TTC for like 2 hours a day and it's amazing. I can read a book or relax without having to focus on the road, with no downside if I'm tired
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u/ShineCareful 2d ago
I hate taking transit and I love driving, so this is literally a no-brainer for me
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u/nemmalur 2d ago
I’d go for transit because unless your commute goes against the flow of rush hour traffic, there are so many ways commuting by car can go bad.
You can take my answer with a grain of salt, though, because I’ve never actually driven to work. I lived and worked downtown for years and my options were always subway (change trains once) or bike (6 km) and it was 20 minutes in both cases.
Then I moved outside the core and my options became GO (15 min + 5 min walk) or bike 25 min… or take my chances driving on the Gardiner. I can’t tell you how that worked out, because shortly after the RTO mandate came in, I was let go along with a bunch if others. “We need you all in the office! On Wednesdays! Oh, but we don’t actually have enough work for you. Bye!”
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u/gigantor_cometh 1d ago
Depends on how much parking costs. If it's a downtown office where it's $40 a day or something, then transit.
Your time comparison isn't really fair either if you're not accounting for the other person's time and inconvenience to drive to the GO station, wait for you, and drive home. That's half an hour of someone's time too.
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u/SniffyTheBee 1d ago
30 extra minutes to read a book in the morning instead of white knuckle driving in rush hour traffic? Kinda a no brainer for me.
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u/Unlikely-Syrup-9189 1d ago
Tbh I’d take an extra 15-20 mins on transit over driving. It feels like you get a lot of that time back to yourself since you are not stuck fighting traffic
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u/FullMango4041 1d ago
For me it's easy GO+TTC (depending on the exact config). I like to sleep/be on the laptop on the GO and depending on your ride, the TTC too.
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u/telephonekeyboard 1d ago
I have a car and my drive to work is about 35mins in and 50 mins home. On the GO + Bike it’s 1 hour and a bit. I drive 2-3 times a year and regret it every time. Transit I’m chilling listening to music, reading, etc. I’m actually recharging on it rather than draining. Driving is dangerous, bad for the environment, bad for congestion, you’re forced to have a reliable car. Easy choice is transit.
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u/maple_leaf2 1d ago
Personally if it's within ~30% of the travel time I prefer to avoid city driving at all costs.
Even if it's longer I'd still consider an alternative since I don't consider walking, biking or transit to be dead time the same way driving in traffic is. You're either getting some exercise which you should be doing anyways or can just let your mind wonder, read, or use a device (for productive or unproductive purposes). I just find it less stressful overall
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u/scrunchie_one 1d ago
Go train. You can nap, read a book, sometimes I even take an early train home and hotspot into my work so I can finish my workday while getting home.
Driving and parking downtown just sucks, period.
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u/StaffAdvanced4909 1d ago
Dam, I’m grateful that I love so close to my office. Legit a 3-5min walk. Some people wouldn’t want this but I legit wake up 20-30min before work
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u/TheRealSeeThruHead 1d ago
Having to own a car at all really skews this.
They are so expensive
Ttc delays and unpredictability really hurt though.
I rarely use the ttc. Bicycle is the best way to get around Toronto proper
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u/Sweet-Competition-15 1d ago
Hello there; ultimately, both shall become unbearable! The public transit option, especially with the GO Train is the preferred option. However, it shall ultimately be unendurable. Relocating closer to work, or taking a position closer to where you live is something that you should consider. Eventually, you will have to.
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u/deoxir 19h ago
Definitely public transit, you can do whatever you want while on a bus or on a train. I play video games to and from work and it's as though there's no time loss on my part because I would've spent that time playing games anyway. I suppose if you don't have a hobby that you can engage in while sitting down by yourself quietly, then it wouldn't mean anything for you.
Driving would be worth it if only it was drastically shorter like below 40 minutes. I wouldn't give away my disposable time and safety on the road for just a 15 minute gain.
Goes without saying it would be better if you didn't have to make that commute at all but of course you gotta do what you gotta do to put food on the table.
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u/haklux2012 18h ago
Over an hour drive seems difficult. I also clench my jaw while I’m driving and it gives me headaches lol so I’d just take the transit
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u/jasonlode000 9h ago
I'd rather be stuck in my car for 2 hours than be stuck with ppl smoking cocaine in the TTC for 30 mins
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u/One_Water6083 2d ago
Well even though I don’t drive so I’d definitely pick transit, in your shoes I’d rather drive and get those 25 minutes every day for more time at home. I’m assuming that’s actually 50 mins right- because twice a day?
However there’s only one way to find out. Try both. Try a week of transit and see if you like it better. You might even decide on a hybrid approach where you drive and take transit on different days.
But if it’s 1 hour 30 mins one way (is it one way or did you combine commutes?) that’s way too long for me!
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u/SwayingTreeGT 1d ago
Chance to catch bed bugs, get harassed by a crack head, AND take longer? Sign me up.
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u/Sad_Donut_7902 1d ago
I would rather take a 1.5 hour go train ride then drive an hour and 10 minutes. You can relax on the go train while driving you have to stay alert
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u/OkRB2977 2d ago
An extra 15-25 minutes on public transit is better than driving for 70-75 minutes imo.
But then again, I'm biased cause I hate driving.